A large crowd gathered today outside the San Juan County administration building here to honor the Navajo Code Talkers during the dedication and unveiling of a new memorial.

In his opening remarks, County Executive Officer Kim Carpenter said the Code Talkers are “a legacy that is forever going to be a part of our heritage and our nation’s heritage.”

The speeches during the ceremony were delivered in English, Navajo and Jicarilla Apache.

Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel Sr. of Lukachukai, Ariz., removed the veil from the large granite monument that includes inscriptions of the unbreakable Navajo code that was used to help win World War II. While Kinsel was the only living Navajo Code Talker who attended the ceremony, the families of about a dozen other Navajo Code Talkers attended the dedication…

County Commissioner Wallace Charley said he hopes the monument at the county building will inspire the state government to have one built at the Capitol in Santa Fe. He said he hopes a monument in Santa Fe could inspire U.S. lawmakers to have one built in Washington, D.C., and displayed alongside other memorials dedicated to veterans.